Epicurean – “Good Steak And Buttons”

Wednesday, January 9, 2013
- by Willie Mae

Filet Mignon

Fresh salad with dressing on the side

Mousaka Eggplant Dish

Mushroom Buttons

When I took my granddaughter Natalie and her friend Nicole to lunch, Natalie suggested we try the Epicurean Restaurant in East Ridge. I had seen it for decades but had never tried it. If I had, I don’t remember it.

It was a nice place with ample parking and friendly hosts. When we were seated, I noticed a lot of white hair. No, not on the tables …but sitting at the tables.

The last time I got out with my granddaughter, we had gone to a college hangout that she liked.

I guess this was her idea of making me feel more ‘at home’.

Our waitress was named Stacy and she was so very sweet. She looked like she ran the place as she shuffled back and forth to all her customers.

I wanted a steak but wasn’t sure which one. I asked her what the “Delicate Sirloin” steak was and she explained that it was a ‘softer’ steak. She leaned in as if to share a secret and said, “Some of our clientele can chew it better.”

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to make a joke or if she was suggesting that I should order that steak myself. I boldly ordered the harder steak. I wasn’t about to give in to soft steak yet.

I ordered the Filet Mignon dinner for $14.95 and got a baked potato and a salad for my sides. Natalie ordered a steak too and Nicole ordered an eggplant dish for $7.95 called Mousaka.

The restaurant was roomy and bright and they had big wooden blinds shielding patrons from the sun. I thought my friend Lou would like this place and he wouldn’t have to deal with the sun blinding him.

Natalie and I have similar taste so when she ordered mushroom buttons for $2.95 for an appetizer, I was delighted. They were enormous and with a mouthwatering flavor. I could go back just to eat the mushrooms! Stacy had brought my salad before my meal and had my dressing on the side. I liked that because I had forgotten to ask.

The girls and I viewed the large mural on the wall beside us. It was such a pretty scene. I asked the girls, “Is that Greece?” Nicole, looked up at where I was looking and said, “I don’t know…” and then she pointed to an oily spot on the wall and said, “But I think that might be.”

You can’t take two young girls anywhere; they cackled and carried on. I have to admit Nicole’s joke was funny but I had to be the one to stay composed as the waitress came with our meal.

Nicole’s eggplant dish looked a little different than she had expected. I wasn’t sure it would make a hit with her from the look on her face. . My steak looked wonderful. It was very tender and …I could chew it just fine.

The steak medallions I had tried at Farm to Fork for just $10 are probably the best steak I have had and it was twice as much steak for less cost. But Epicurean still has a good steak.

Natalie didn’t care for the gravy on her whipped potatoes but said her steak was good. I had the biggest baked potato I’d seen in a long time. I went ahead and cut it in half and just buttered part of it. Nicole said her eggplant dish was mushy and not like the ones she had at other places.

I liked my steak but the mushroom buttons are what won me over! I liked the whole meal.

The girls raced out to the car and fought for front seat. You can’t take two young girls anywhere.

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